TONEY HUNGRY TO PROVE HIMSELF.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES BOXING

Billy Blanks, the Tae Bo guru from Hidden Hills, said Wednesday that James ``Lights Out'' Toney would weigh less for his rematch tonight against Samuel Peter than he did the first time they fought in September.

That didn't happen. Toney, who weighed 233 pounds in September, came in at 234 Thursday. However, judging by pictures coming out of the weigh-in, Toney did not appear near as flabby as he did for his first fight against Peter, nor his previous fight against Hasim Rahman last March, when he weighed 237.

Toney and Peter will square off in the main event at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. At stake is the World Boxing Council's No. 1 ranking in the heavyweight division. Showtime will televise.

Peter won a controversial split-decision in his first fight with Toney at Staples Center. Thus the WBC-ordered rematch.

Toney is still trained by Freddie Roach, but Blanks has been his conditioning coach the past 10weeks. Blanks raved about Toney's progress as well as his work ethic during a telephone conversation the day after he and Toney arrived in Florida.

``His cardio is better,'' Blanks said. ``I believe when you guys see him, you are going to see a difference in his body. His body is totally toned. He is going to look different to everybody when they see him. My goal was to get his athletic ability to catch up with his boxing ability and that is what we have been doing the last eight, nine, 10 weeks, is getting him in good cardio shape, getting his strength up.

``We started off about 10 weeks ago. From the first week to the fourth week in lifting weights, I had him go from 250 to 400 pounds in the bench press. His strength has really increased. I had him power lifting for explosive speed. A lot of agility training. Track training. We did everything.''

And, Blanks said, Toney did all of it willingly.

``His spirit is strong,'' Blanks said. ``He's got the eye of the tiger.''

To say Toney's body is totally toned would be a stretch. But it does appear improved. Toney went so far as to declare himself in his best condition in more than three years, or since he stopped Evander Holyfield in the ninth round in October 2003.

``I'm in better shape than I was when I fought Holyfield,'' said the 5-foot-9 1/2 Toney, who weighed just 217 for Holyfield.

``Everybody knows what I can do when I'm in great shape. Ain't no secret about that.''

Blanks said that Toney, 38, trained as many as seven hours a day between his boxing work with Roach and his conditioning work with him. Both Blanks and Toney also said that there was a drastic change of diet.

Toney said he went from chowing down at his favorite Valley establishments like Jerry's Famous Deli and Mel's Drive-In to eating lima beans and fish.

``I love good food, man,'' Toney said. ``Food will always be there. Steak will always be there. After I take care of my business, I'll be all right.''

Peter, 26, won the first fight when two judges scored in favor of him by 116-111 counts. The other judge gave it to Toney, 115-112. Almost every ringside reporter had Toney winning.

Consequently, both fighters can't wait to get at each other and settle this once and for all.

``I beat the guy to death the first time and they robbed me,'' Toney said. ``Now I'm anxious to get in there and give him a whopping. He has been doing so much talking over the last couple of months. It's ridiculous. Whatever they're saying, I won't forget. And when I knock his (butt) out, I'm going to shove it back in their faces.''

Usually it's Toney who draws the ire of his opponent. But Peter, normally a quiet man, has been talking because he is angry that he even has to do this fight again.

As far as he is concerned, the judges got it right the first time and he has already earned his shot at WBC champion Oleg Maskaev.

But the WBC, thanks to pressure from Toney's co-promoter, Dan Goossen, saw it differently. And here we are.

``I will beat James Toney, hands down,'' said Peter, of Las Vegas via Akwaibom, Nigeria.

Peter, ranked No. 1 by the WBC, is 27-1 with 22 KOs. Toney, ranked No. 2, is 60-5-3 with 43 KOs.

Mosley-Collazon brings intrigue

Sugar Shane Mosley last week signed to challenge Kermit Cintron for his International Boxing Federation welterweight belt, but Cintron was forced to pull out because he has promotional problems.

Mosley, promoted by Golden Boy Promotons, this week signed to fight Luis Collazo on Feb. 10 in a non-title fight at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Golden Boy also announced the signing of the Marco Antonio Barrera-Juan Manuel Marquez World Boxing Council super featherweight title fight March 17 at MGM Grand, so it was a fruitful week for the Oscar De La Hoya-owned company.

HBO will televise Mosley-Collazo, and Barrera-Marquez will be available on HBO pay-per-view.

The first thought that comes to mind regarding Mosley-Collazo is that Mosley (43-4, 37 KOs) might have had an easier time with Cintron.

Cintron is a good, tough fighter. But so is Collazo, and he's a southpaw. Ricky Hatton found out how difficult Collazo can be in the ring when he moved up in weight and took Collazo's WBA welterweight belt last May via unanimous decision.

It was a close fight. Many thought Collazo won. Keep in mind that Hatton, of England, is the same vicious fighter who stopped the great Kostya Tszyu in the 11thround in June 2005.

``Mosley and Collazo are both slick boxers who aren't afraid to get in the trenches and battle it out toe to toe,'' De La Hoya said. ``So I'm expecting a memorable fight.''

Collazo (27-2, 13), of Brooklyn, N.Y., is promoted by Don King.

``I call Luis Collazo the uncrowned champion because everyone who saw him fight the sensational Ricky Hatton last year knows he successfully defended his WBA welterweight title,'' King said. ``Luis took everything Hatton threw at him and still had (Hatton) out on his feet in the final round.''

As for Barrera-Marquez, their sealed deal means there will not be a much-anticipated rematch between Barrera and Manny Pacquiao, who stopped Barrera in the 11th round in November 2003. Pacquiao is embroiled in a promotional dispute between Golden Boy and Top Rank Inc. and that made it nearly impossible to make the rematch until that issue is decided in court.

Pacquiao recently signed contracts with both companies. But Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy, said he is excited about Barrera-Marquez. It was Marquez who came back from three first-round knockdowns to earn a draw with Pacquiao in May 2004.

``Pretty much every fighter, except Pacquiao, has avoided Marquez,'' Schaefer said. ``And when Pacquiao did fight Marquez, a lot of the boxing writers felt that Marquez actually won that fight.

And so for Barrera now to go and fight this guy, Marquez, is certainly a great fight as well and the kind of fight which could potentially become the kind of fight where you see more than one.

Marquez is also promoted by Golden Boy.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Samuel Peter, right, punches James Toney during his win at Staples Center in September. The rematch is tonight in Hollywood, Fla.

Laura Rauch/Associated Press

(2) MOSLEY

Box:

Etc.